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Politics and International Relations (with Foundation Year)

Entry requirements


A level

C,C

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

MM

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

MPP

UCAS Tariff

64

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

International relations

Do you want to make sense of the post-truth world, encapsulated by events such as Brexit and the US Election? Are you interested in understanding how global powers interact, both in times of war and peace?

Would you like to know more about international organisations and their capacity to control and shape development around the world? Do you want to learn about political participation and become an active citizen, so that you can contribute to policy-making processes?

If you answer 'Yes' to any of these questions, then our International Relations course is for you.

Global politics has become increasingly turbulent, foundations and systems are being shaken, and relations between nations are being shifted and tested. There is a new demand for experts who are able to understand and work in this new political arena. With our innovative Politics and International Relations course we can equip you with the skills and knowledge to play an active role in this new world.

There has never been a more pressing and fascinating time to study and make a career in international politics.

Our foundation year course is perfect if you want a degree in International Relations but you don't have the standard entry requirements. First we prepare you for your degree during the Foundation year, bringing you up to speed with academic skills and a firm grounding in the subject. Then you can go on to do the full undergraduate degree.

Modules

Foundation Year: Knowledge, Skills, Practice and the Self: Mental Wealth (Core), Exploring Communities as Social Scientists (Core), Researching Changing Communities (Core), Reimagining the Work of a Social Scientist (Core), Crime, Justice and Surveillance (Optional), Reading the Body Psychosocially (Optional), Introduction to Digital Sociology (Optional), Globalisation and Society (Optional)

Year 1: What’s going on (how do we know, and what can we do about it?): Mental Wealth 1 (Core), Politics (Core), Global Political Economy (Core), The Mess We Are In (And How We Got Here) (Core), International Relations (Core), Public Policy (Core)

Year 2: Global Governance (Core), Space, Bodies and Power (Core), Mental Wealth 2: Social Enterprise (Core), Great Power Politics (Core), Research Methods (Core), Human Mobility and Forced Migration (Optional), Alternative Approaches to Development (Optional)

Year 3: Mental Wealth 3: Placement Reflections (Core), Gender, Power and Politics (Core), Applied Research Project in Social Sciences (Core), European Politics (Core), African Politics and Development (Optional), Conflict Intervention and Development (Optional)

For more information about individual modules, please visit our course pages via the link below.

Assessment methods

Coursework will include, research-based assignments essays, video presentations and a research dissertation.

The approximate percentages for this course are:

Year 1: Coursework 100%
Year 2: Coursework 75% Exam 25%
Year 3: Coursework 75% Exam 25%
Assessment tasks are mainly spread across the year to make the workload manageable. Assessment methods include group works and individual work including essays, presentations, case studies, professional development and practical activities depending on the nature of the course. All grades count towards your module mark. More details will be included in the student handbook and module guides.

Feedback is provided within 15 working days in line with UEL's assessment and feedback policy.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£14,820
per year
International
£14,820
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Docklands Campus

Department:

School of Education and Communities (EDUCOM)

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

61%
International relations

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Politics

Teaching and learning

61%
Staff make the subject interesting
68%
Staff are good at explaining things
71%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
56%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

59%
Library resources
66%
IT resources
64%
Course specific equipment and facilities
39%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

72%
UK students
28%
International students
51%
Male students
49%
Female students
69%
2:1 or above
28%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
B
C

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Politics

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£20,475
med
Average annual salary
97%
med
Employed or in further education
38%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

14%
Welfare and housing associate professionals
8%
Business, research and administrative professionals
8%
Customer service occupations

The numbers of people taking politics degrees fell sharply last year and we'll keep an eye on this one - it can't really be because of graduates getting poor outcomes as politics grads do about as well as graduates on average. Most politics or international relations graduates don't actually go into politics - although many do, as activists, fundraisers and researchers. Jobs in local and central government are also important. Other popular jobs include marketing and PR, youth and community work, finance roles, HR and academic research (you usually need a postgraduate degree to get into research). Because so many graduates get jobs in the civil service, a lot of graduates find themselves in London after graduating. Politics is a very popular postgraduate subject, and so about one in five politics graduates go on to take another course - usually a one-year Masters - after they finish their degrees.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Politics

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£16k

£16k

£30k

£30k

£22k

£22k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here